Daily Archives: July 1, 2017

Sometimes, even with the internet, it’s hard to pin down an event’s exact date. All of the following happened in July, but I cannot find a date. If you can, let me know and the source. I’d appreciate it.

BLACK HISTORY

Washing Society

July 1881: 20 home laundry workers in Atlanta, Georgia formed a trade organization, the Washing Society. They sought higher pay, respect and autonomy over their work, and established a uniform rate at a dollar per dozen pounds of wash. With the help of African American ministers throughout the city, they held a mass meeting and called a strike to achieve higher pay at the uniform rate.
[AFL-CIO article] (see July 4)

Scottsboro Boys Travesty

July 1948: Haywood Patterson escaped from prison. Patterson sought the help of a journalist, Earl Conrad, and together they write The Scottsboro Boy, an account of Patterson’s life.

July 1977: Victoria Price’s defamation and invasion of privacy suit against NBC for its movie “Judge Horton and the Scottsboro Boys,” dismissed.

In 1979: Clarence Norris, in ”The Last of the Scottsboro Boys,” a 1979 autobiography written with Sybil D. Washington, contended that the black youths were scapegoats, caught at the wrong place at the wrong time with two white women who were afraid they would be accused of fraternizing with blacks.

In 1982: Victoria Price died without ever having apologized for her role in the injustice her testimony brought upon the innocent defendants. (see Scottsboro for expanded story)

Rosa Parks

Department of Defense Directive 5120.36

In July 1963: Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara issued Department of Defense Directive 5120.36 The directive dealt with the issue of racism in areas surrounding military communities. The directive declared:

It is the policy of the Department of Defense to conduct all of its activities in a manner which is free from racial discrimination, and which provides equal opportunity for all uniformed members and all civilian employees irrespective of their color.

The military departments shall . . . issue appropriate instructions, manuals and regulations in connection with the leadership responsibility for equal opportunity, on and off-base, and containing guidance for its discharge.

Every military commander has the responsibility to oppose discriminatory practices affecting his men and their dependents and to foster equal opportunity for them, not only in areas under his immediate control, but also in nearby communities where they may live or gather in off-duty hours.

The directive empowered commanding officers to use economic power to influence local businesses. With the approval of the Secretary of Defense, the commanding officer could declare an area off-limits to military personnel. [MLDC article] (see July 2)

Rainey Pool

July 1970: despite indictments, the circuit court enters an order granting nolle proseque [decision to voluntarily discontinue criminal charges either before trial or before a verdict is rendered.] (BH, see July 28)

In 1998: after more than twenty-eight years, five men were indicted for the murder of Pool in 1998. Two of the five men had severed trials. (Pool, see June 30, 1999; BH, see Mar 12)

July Peace Love Art Activism

US Labor History

USPS weight limits

July 1916: to the huge relief of Post Office Department employees, the service set a limit of 200 pounds a day to be shipped by any one customer. Builders were finding it cheaper to send supplies via post than via wagon freight. In one instance, 80,000 bricks for a new bank were shipped parcel post from Salt Lake City to Vernal, Utah, 170 miles away. The new directive also barred the shipment of humans: a child involved in a couple’s custody fight was shipped—for 17¢—from Stillwell to South Bend, Ind., in a crate labeled “live baby” (see February 9, 1917)

César E. Chávez

July – August 1975: to educate farm workers about their newly-won rights, Chavez embarked upon his longest, and least known, march, a 1,000-mile 59-day trek from the Mexican border at San Ysidro north along the coast to Salinas and then from Sacramento south down the Central Valley to the UFW’s La Paz headquarters at Keene, southeast of Bakersfield. Tens of thousands of farm workers march and attend evening rallies to hear Chavez and organize their ranches. (see May 1976)

July Peace Love Art Activism

Emma Goldman

July – December 1922: Goldman completed a manuscript, My Two Years in Russia and sells the rights to the book. It was published in 1923 as My Disillusionment in Russia. (see Goldman for expanded story)

July Peace Love Art Activism

Religion and Public Education

July 1945: Vashti McCollum brought legal action against the Champaign, Illinois public school district. McCollum’s suit stated that her eight-year-old son had been coerced and ostracized by school officials because his family had chosen to not participate in the district’s in-school religious instruction program. McCollum’s suit argued that religious instruction held during regular school hours on public school property constituted an establishment of religion in violation of the U.S. Constitution, and violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. [NYT obituary] (see September 10, 1945)

July Peace Love Art Activism

Vietnam

Chinese withdraw

In July 1946: Chinese troops withdrew from Vietnam. (see Dec 19)

General Paul D Harkins

In July 1962: General Paul D Harkins, head of the Military Assistance Command, told US Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara that once South Vietnam’s ARVN [Army of the Republic of Vietnam] and Civil Guard were fully trained and engaged in hunting down the communists, their military potential could be eliminated within twelve months.

He left in 1964.(see Aug 22)

July Peace Love Art Activism

Fear of Rock

July 1957: ABC TV show “The Big Beat” with Alan Freed began a short run. Though popular, in an early episode Frankie Lymon, a Black singer, was seen dancing with a white girl. Southern stations protested and ABC cancelled the show. (see In October)

The Rainbow Quest

July 1960: Pete Seeger released The Rainbow Quest album on which was the song “Where Have All the Flowers Gone”

FCC adopted non-duplication rule

July, 1964: the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted a non-duplication rule prohibiting FM radio stations in cities of more than 100,000 people from merely running a simulcast of the programming from their AM counterparts. Stations fought the rule and delayed implementation. (CM, see September 5, 1965; RR, see December 13, 1965)

Sidewinder

In July 1964: Lee Morgan’s Sidewinder album released. He recorded it at Van Gelder Studios in Englewood Cliffs, NJ.

Cultural Milestone

Future Woodstock Performers

“Sky Pilot”

July 1968: Eric Burdon and the Animals released “Sky Pilot” and Phil Ochs “The War Is Over.” (Vietnam, see August)

Mind Games

July – August, 1973: in New York’s Record Plant East studio, John Lennon began work on the Mind Games album. Mind Games was completed within a period lasting around two weeks, with Lennon producing it himself. The band was credited as the Plastic U.F.Ono Band.

By that summer John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s marriage was on the rocks. Ono suggested that Lennon embark on an affair with their assistant, May Pang. That decision led to Lennon’s “Lost Weekend,” the 18 months that he lived with Pang in her New York apartment and later a a rented home in Los Angeles. (see Sept 24)

July Peace Love Art Activism

Nuclear/Chemical News

July 1961: Ban The Bomb demonstrations start worldwide. (CW, see Aug 12; NN, see July 3)

July Peace Love Art Activism

Daniel Ellsberg/Pentagon Papers

July 1971: President Nixon appointed Egil “Bud” Krogh, Jr. and Kissinger aide David Young, Jr. to head a special investigations unit (nicknamed “the plumbers”) to obtain evidence to discredit Ellsberg, who Henry Kissinger has deemed “the most dangerous man in America” who “has to be stopped.” Krogh and Young hired G. Gordon Liddy and E. Howard Hunt, who hatched a plan to burglarize the offices of Ellsberg’s one-time psychiatrist in Los Angeles. They carry out the plan in September 1971. (see DE/PP for expanded story)

July Peace Love Art Activism

Symbionese Liberation Army

July 1973: a group of Berkeley-area activists organized a revolutionary group, the Symbionese Liberation Army. The S.L.A. believed a timely example will spark revolt in Black America. Their goals include closing prisons, ending monogamy, and destroying “all other institutions that have made and sustained capitalism.” (see Nov 6)

July Peace Love Art Activism

Sexual Abuse of Children

July 1992: US bishops meeting in South Bend, Indiana, admitted attempts by some of their number to hide abuse. [My Plainview article] (see Oct 10)

July Peace Love Art Activism

Marijuana

In July 1999: in response to a rescheduling petition from Unimed, [Marinol] was moved administratively by DEA to Schedule III to make it more widely available to patients. The rescheduling was granted after a review by DEA and the Department of Health and Human Services found little evidence of illicit abuse of the drug. In Schedule III, Marinol is now subject to fewer regulatory controls and lesser criminal sanctions for illicit use. (see June 14)

July Peace Love Art Activism

Iraq War II

In July 2006: White House budget document revealed that administration will ask for another $110 billion to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. (see Aug 19)

July Peace Love Art Activism

Fear of Rock

July 1, 1956,: Elvis was scheduled to appear on the Steve Allen Show, but Allen was nervous about Elvis’s controversial style. “We want to do a show the whole family can watch and enjoy and we always do.”

So Allen had Elvis dress in a tuxedo sing his hit song “Hound Dog” to an actual basset hound. (see Sept 9)

July 1 Music et al

Windy

July 1 – 28, 1967: “Windy” by the Association is #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

July 1 Music et al

Sgt Pepper’s

July 1 Music et al

Future Woodstock Performers

July 1, 1968:The Band released its first album, Music From Big Pink. Rick Danko, age 26; Robbie Robertson, age 25; Levon Helm, age 28; Richard Manuel, age 25; Garth Hudson, age 31)

July 1 Music et al

Abbey Road

July 1, 1969, The Beatles began recording the Abbey Road album.

That same day, John Lennon crashed his car in Scotland. From Beatles Bible: While holidaying in Scotland with Yoko Ono, her daughter Kyoko and his son Julian, John Lennon crashed his white British Leyland Austin Maxi car in Golspie in the Highlands.

Lennon was a notoriously bad driver who had rarely been behind the wheel since passing his test in 1965. He was poor at navigating roads and often failed to notice other traffic.

The roads around Golspie were narrow. The weather was poor, and Lennon panicked after spotting a foreign tourist driving towards him. Lennon lost control of his Austin Maxi, driving it into a roadside ditch. He, Ono and Kyoko sustained cuts to the face and Ono’s back was injured.

They were taken to Golspie’s Lawson Memorial Hospital where Lennon was given 17 facial stitches, Ono 14 in her forehead, and Kyoko, four. (see August 20)

July 1 Music et al

“Imagine”

July 1, 1971: John Lennon recorded “Imagine.” From Beatles Bible: Lennon’s second solo album was his greatest commercial success. On it he tempered some of the more abrasive and confrontational elements of its predecessor, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, offering instead a more conventional pop collection that contains some of his best-loved songs. (see August)

Environmental Issues

July 1, 1905: the USDA Forest Service was created within the Department of Agriculture. The agency was given the mission to sustain healthy, diverse, and productive forests and grasslands for present and future generations. [site today] (see May 13, 1908)

July 1 Peace Love Art Activism

BLACK HISTORY

East St Louis, MO

July 1, 1917: a rumor spread claiming that a black man had killed a white man and tensions boiled over. [Smithsonian article] (see July 2)

CORE

July 1, 1942: James Farmer, Bernice Fisher, Joe Guinn, George Houser, Homer Jack and James Robinson established the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). Its objective was to use nonviolent tactics to challenge racial injustice. [site today] (see Oct 13)

July 1, 1962

July 1 Peace Love Art Activism

Cultural Milestone

July 1, 1963: designed to help speed mail deliveries, the US Post Office put into effect its program to give every mailing address a number. The new system was called “zip code” (Zoning Improvement Plan).

The department mailed 72 million cards to every mailbox in the country. The card informed the addressee of their five-digit “zip code” number and provided a brief explanation of the system. (see Oct 12 – 16)

July 1 Peace Love Art Activism

DRAFT CARD BURNING

July 1, 1966: David O’Brien, 19 years old, convicted of burning his draft card, was sentenced to a Federal Youth Correctional Center for an indefinite term. [Case Briefs article] (Draft Card Burning, see October 13, 1966; Vietnam, see October)

July 1 Peace Love Art Activism

Fear of Rock

July 1, 1956,: Elvis was scheduled to appear on the Steve Allen Show, but Allen was nervous about Elvis’s controversial style. “We want to do a show the whole family can watch and enjoy and we always do.”

So Allen had Elvis dress in a tuxedo sing his hit song “Hound Dog” to an acutal basset hound. (see Sept 9)

Windy

July 1 – 28, 1967: “Windy” by the Association #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Sgt Pepper’s

July 1, 1968:The Band released its first album, Music From Big Pink. Rick Danko, age 26; Robbie Robertson, age 25; Levon Helm, age 28; Richard Manuel, age 25; Garth Hudson, age 31) (see July 5)

Abbey Road

July 1, 1969, The Beatles began recording the Abbey Road album. (see August 20)

“Imagine”

July 1, 1971: John Lennon recorded “Imagine.” (see “in August”)

July 1 Peace Love Art Activism

Nuclear/Chemical News

Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons

July 1, 1968: Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonly known as the Non-Proliferation Treaty was signed. It was a landmark international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and to further the goal of achieving nuclear disarmament and general and complete disarmament. [UN article] (see March 5, 1970)

July 1 Peace Love Art Activism

TERRORISM

July 1 Peace Love Art Activism

Marijuana

July 1, 2015: Oregon ended marijuana prohibition, joining Colorado, Washington state, Alaska, and the District of Columbia in legalizing recreational use of the drug. The new law meant Oregon would likely reap benefits that appear to have followed legalization elsewhere: Reduced crime, from a legal industry supplanting a black market; higher tax revenue, once weed is legal to sell; and police forces and courts unburdened by droves of misdemeanor pot offenders. [Guardian article] (see Aug 11)

July 1 Peace Love Art Activism

The Cold War

July 1, 2015: President Obama announced his plans to formally re-establish diplomatic relations with Cuba, declaring that the two nations were ready to reopen embassies in each other’s capitals and to start a “new chapter” of engagement after more than a half-century of estrangement.

“Our nations are separated by only 90 miles, and there are deep bonds of family and friendship between our people, but there have been very real, profound differences between our governments, and sometimes we allow ourselves to be trapped by a certain way of doing things,” Mr. Obama said. [NYT article] (CW & Cuba, see July 15)

July 1 Peace Love Art Activism

LGBTQ

July 1, 2015: U.S. District Judge Callie V.S. Granade issued an order confirming that her injunction directing all Alabama probate judges to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples was in effect and required immediate compliance.

A violation of Judge Granade’s order would result in a county probate judge being held liable for contempt of court, attorneys’ fees, financial penalties and any other remedies the court deemed proper. Granade stated: “By the language set forth in the order, the preliminary injunction is now in effect and binding on all members of the Defendant Class.”

In the May 21 preliminary-injunction order, Granade directed all Alabama probate judges to stop enforcing the state’s marriage ban – effective immediately – after the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling affirming marriage equality. Since Supreme Court issued its decision on June 26, the injunction prohibiting enforcement of the ban went into effect that day. Although most of Alabama’s county probate judges were issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, a minority were not.

On Tuesday, Amyx removed the “No Gays allowed” sign and replaced it with a sign that says: “We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone who would violate our rights of freedom of speech & freedom of religion.” [NCLR article] (see July 13)